Two leaves are twenty
Travel to the country of tea.
Finally came back from the much awaited place Srimangal. It was the first tour of my life so the excitement, planning everything was a little high. But every time I made a plan, for some reason or the other, every time it got canceled and the tour got cancelled. Finally after a long 3 months plan program I was able to visit Srimangal, the capital of tea. Today I will share the experience of that Srimangal tour
This is my first travel experience so please forgive me for mistakes.
You can easily visit Srimangal to escape from the mechanical life for a while. A total of four of us went. I wanted to go and return on the train but I got the ticket for going but didn't get the train ticket for returning.
At 7 am we started our journey from the airport station by Parawat Express. Reached Srimangal by 11 pm. After getting off the train, I went to a small hotel next to the station to book a room. Since we went in the off season, we did not book the room in advance.
We provide room booking at Hotel Sky Park. The hotel is 5 minutes walking distance from the station. I like the service of the hotel. After some rest we went for lunch at Srimangal's famous Pansi restaurant.
After lunch we went out around 2.30 to visit different places. And for this we had already fixed Sajid uncle for the auto. On the first day we visited the nearby places - slaughterhouse, Finlay tea garden, BTRI, rubber garden, Manipuri Para and Adi Neel Kantha.
Badhyabhoomi- Our children of the sun who were martyred in 71 are sleeping here in absolute peace. They were killed and left in a drain. The nala is nicely tied around. There is a small bridge in the style of a hanging bridge over the canal. On the other side of the bridge there is a beautifully constructed water fountain and on the other side open green fields and monuments built in honor of the martyrs. The place is perfect for taking pictures.
Finlay Tea Gardens - The main attraction of Srimangal are these tea gardens. As far as the eye can see, there are only green tea plantations on either side of the road, which is eye-catching.
BTRI - Bangladesh Tea Research Centre. The interior is very nice clean and tidy. I like this place very much.
Rubber plantation - here are rows of rubber trees as far as the eye can see. I came to know from Otto Mama that this rubber garden changes its appearance every season which is very charming.
Manipuri Para - There are small tribal shops where you can find dresses, chadars, sarees. The shops are quite tidy.
Adi Neel Kantha - Though I have heard many names of seven color tea, but after going to a nearby Manipuri store for shopping, I got to know from them that the taste of this seven color tea is not so good. So we had lemon tea there which was very good.
Then we returned to the hotel around 7 pm. On the way back, I went to Hanif bus counter to buy the return ticket.
After returning to the hotel, we rest for some time and go to "Satkara Restaurant" for dinner. It is also very close to the hotel. Food test was good.
The next morning we checked out from the hotel and had breakfast at a London restaurant. The quality and quantity of their food was very good. After breakfast we went out to see the rest of the places which included - Lal Pahar, Lauachhara, Jannatul Ferdous Masjid, Noorjahan Tea Garden and Madhavpur Lake.
- Lal Pahar - The red mud hill located within the Finlay Tea Estate. From the 250/300 ft hilltop one can get a very nice view of Finley Tea Estate. There is a temple on the hill. Here we stayed for quite some time
- Lauachhra Udyan - The road leading here is very beautiful. There are many bushes on either side though. After some time, I realized where the forest is. Quiet around. All silence. Even during this day, the whole road is covered with clouds in the shade of trees. The ticket price to enter Lauachhra Udyan is Tk 50 and Tk 20 for students. The main purpose of going here was to see the historical railway line. Since we won't be staying long and won't be going in much, we didn't have a guide. There are numerous plants inside this garden. What kind of atmosphere during the day. But I like that side of the rail line very much. The Hollywood movie 'Around the World in Eighty Days' and Humayun Ahmed's film 'Amar Hai Jal' were shot on this railway line.
Here we go outside for a few hours and have some food and buy tea leaves. Then we went to Madhavpur Lake.
- Madhavpur Lake - This place is quite far from the city. But I think it is one of the most beautiful places in Srimangal. After entering the lake, I saw in front of my eyes red and white Shapla flowers blooming in the water of the lake. I started walking along the shore of the lake. There are huge mountains nearby. A very beautiful view is available from the top of the hill. After climbing the mountain, I talked to the guard there. The gentleman is quite a sociable type. I got to know from him that the tea plantation workers were brought to this country from India by the British government during the British period. The fact that they are relatives, left their homes and came to this country and could not leave. Due to lack of time, I crossed the lake for about 30 minutes and headed towards Nurjahan Tea Garden.
- Noorjahan Tea Garden - A wonderful place. On both sides of the pitch-stained narrow road, there are unknown huge trees, twenty-five steps across the road are small hills and tea gardens. The beauty here is actually very difficult to capture on camera. Its complete beauty is a matter of seeing with your own eyes. After seeing this immense beauty of Nurjahan, I saw the Jannatul Ferdous Mosque on the way back to the city. It is built on a hill. There are stairs to climb the mosque.
Then we reached the city by 3 pm as our bus time was at 3.50. Arrived at the bus stand and had lunch at Panch Bhai Restaurant and bid farewell to our TomTom driver Sajid Bhai. Then I waited at the counter for the bus. The bus leaves for Dhaka at 4 pm and arrives at 9.30 pm.
Sajid uncle's contribution in this entire tour of ours is immense He is a very nice person and also a guide who showed us all the places in a timely and planned manner.
Thus ended our much awaited tour.
Expenditure - (per person)
Train ticket - 240 Tk
1st Day Breakfast - 30 Tk
Room difficulty - 600 taka (per room 1200 taka non AC)
Lunch Pansi - Tk 125 (Rice, Dal, Chicken, Bharta)
TomTom Fare - 325 Taka (Total 1300 Taka)
Dinner Satkara - Tk 125 (Rice, Dal, Satkara Chicken)
2nd Day Breakfast - 50 Tk
Lunch Panch Bhai - Tk 100 (rice, dal, bhaji, chicken)
Bus ticket - 480 Tk
Other miscellaneous expenses - 150 Tk
The 2 day tour cost us Tk.2200 per person. Also we did some shopping.
Wherever you travel - be sure to keep an eye on the environment. Do not litter anywhere.
Happy traveling